Photoshop Filter Guide
Click on a Filter Category to view a sample of the Filters

Artistic

Average (Photoshop CS Only)

Finds the average color of an image or selection, and then fills the image or selection with the color to create a smooth look. For example, if you select an area of grass, the filter will change the area into a smooth patch of green.

Blur

Eliminate noise where significant color transitions occur in an image. Blur filters smooth transitions by averaging the pixels next to the hard edges of defined lines and shaded areas.

Blur More

The Blur More filter produces an effect three or four times stronger than that of the Blur filter.

Gaussian Blur

Quickly blurs a selection by an adjustable amount. Gaussian refers to the bell-shaped curve that is generated when Adobe Photo-shop applies a weighted average to the pixels. The Gaussian Blur filter adds low-frequency detail and can produce a hazy effect.

Perfect companion for the Depth of Field Trick or quik Glamour Photos

Lens Blur (Photoshop CS Only)

Adds blur to an image to give the effect of a narrower depth of field so that some objects in the image stay in focus while others areas become blurred. A simple selection can be used to determine which areas become blurred, or you can provide a separate alpha channel depth map to describe exactly how you want the blur added.

The Lens Blur filter uses a depth map to determine the position of pixels in an image. You can use alpha channels and layer masks to create depth maps; black areas in an alpha channel are treated as though they're at the front of the photo, and white areas are treated as if they're far in the distance.

The erfect companion for the Depth of Field Trick

Motion Blur

Blurs in a particular direction (from -360º to +360º) and at a specific intensity (from 1 to 999). The filter's effect is analogous to taking a picture of a moving object with a fixed exposure time.

Radial Blur

Simulates the blur of a zooming or rotating camera to produce a soft blur. Choose Spin, to blur along concentric circular lines, and then specify a degree of rotation; or Zoom, to blur along radial lines, as if zooming in or out of the image, and specify an amount from 1 to 100. Blur quality ranges from Draft for the fastest but grainy results; or Good and Best for smoother results, which are indistinguishable except on a large selection. Specify the origin of the blur by dragging the pattern in the Blur Center box.

Smart Blur

Precisely blurs an image. You can specify a radius, to determine how far the filter searches for dissimilar pixels to blur; a threshold, to determine how different the pixels' values should be before they are eliminated; and a blur quality. You also can set a mode for the entire selection (Normal), or for the edges of color transitions (Edge Only and Overlay). Where significant contrast occurs, Edge Only applies black-and-white edges, and Overlay Edge applies white.

Used in the Pencil Portrait Trick.